NEW TOOLS AND A LITTLE FORESIGHT CAN SMOOTH A PATH TO RETIREMENT BETWEEN SCRIMPING AND SPLURGING

Let's face it--Uncle Sam is broke. The gap between the U.S. government's future expenses and tax receipts is $63.3 trillion. No surprise. The nation has 77 million retiring baby boomers on track to collect well above $30,000 a year--the average amount we're paying today's elderly--in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. If you're planning for a cushy retirement, forget it. Get ready for much higher taxes, lower benefits and inflation.

Why this glum scenario? To close our fiscal gap, we face a menu of pain: raise income taxes 70%, hike payroll taxes 109%, cut Social Security and Medicare a combined 41%,...